Poured in a hefeweizen glass. A dulled, murky pale yellow color with a medium thick head is the general appearance of this drink. A thin lacing appears on the side. Aromas are quite nice and appetizing. Cloves, lemons, bananas, and grains help with an earthy tone. Taste is a little dull but has a citrus-sweet aftertaste to it. Carbonation is quite good, making it refreshing and crisp. Overall, a good hefe.

Poured a straw color with a huge white head that held really well and had a continuance lace. Did someone say banana and gum? It reminds me of a great Belgium white with a great combination of spice and coriander moving to a slightly tart yeast finish. I enjoyed the complete package of this brew except the packaging that made it simply a wheat ale when it carries more than that.

my second russian beer. brown 16.9 oz. embossed bottle. poured a opaque straw color with a huge white head that held fairly well but not a lot of lace. light bubble gum and banana nose with a slightly sweet lemon taste up front with a hint of spice and coriander moving to a slightly tart yeast finish. very light mouthfeel with lots of carbonation going on. lighter and with more subtle taste than american style hefeweizen. very enjoyable very drinkable.

APPEARANCE: Pours a big 3+ finger, but thin white head. A lot of carbonation evident; bubbles flying up all over the place. Colour is amber-orange and partially cloudy. Not quite as opaque as others. Head is pretty persistent; levels out to a decent film but disappears and looks flat the last third of the pint. No real lacing to speak of. Definately below par.

SMELL: A decent nose of wheat malt, banana and lemon, and a little bubble gum as well.

TASTE: Some wheat malt and banana undertones, but a strong lemon taste is more prevalent. Quite sweet as well. The aftertaste is mild and lingering, and includes sweet malt and an ever so slight touch of bread and bubble gum. Not bad, but nothing special.

PALATE: Thin body and lighter on the palate. Higher end carbonation, goes down easy smooth and finishes rather dry. Could be a little thicker and have less carbonation for the style.

OVERALL: You wouldn't know it wasn't German by the taste of it. A decent drinkable brew, but not memorable or spectacular. A bit too much carbonation and a little too thin on the palate, but definitely smells and tastes the part for sure. Id have it again, but I wouldn't go out of my way.

Pours yellow hazy with large and rocky head that is not very long-lasting. Aroma is very strong fruity banana, cloves, bit of bubble gum and very faint grainy wheat.

Taste is very fresh lemony banana, bits of grainy malt and a small bite of hops in the finish. Aftertaste has some sweeter notes in it. Mouthfeel seems to be lighter than for typical German Hefeweizens and there is rather high carbonation.

Overall, I liked this beer, I had not drank it for several years and had forgotten how good it was.

This pours a transparent medium gold at first and then I just couldn't resist the urge to cloud this up by agitating the settled yeast in the bottom. Now this is cloudy and not nearly as bright as before. A foamy bleach white cap is fed the duration by cascading carbonation, a thin cap remains while leaving little bits of lacing here and there. The nose reminds me of an Outkast song, so fresh and so clean. Really this Hefe has a nice bouquet of aromas lemon, banana, spice and floral as well. This is a well rounded offering with sweet fruitiness right from the start, subtle clove and doughy banana bread notes keep this Russian Wheat rocking. Soft,light and smooth with just the lightest sugary sweet coating left on the lips. This is a great Hefeweizen, from Russia with love.

My Baltika 8 was poured into a pint glass with vigorous pour to a 2 finger head with a pale lemondrop color with cloudiness. Good head retention, bottle produced 10/4/08 with a drink by label of 10/4/09.

Smells grainy, a hair sweet. There are cloves and other spices in the nose as well as the typical bannana bread smell to it. It's not overly strong but it is certainly a pleasant smell.

Tastes like more of the same. A little spicy, with a nice drying quality to it. Tons of sweet bready notes, and I really like this.

Mouthfeel is watery with a thirst quenching aftertaste. The finish is short and only slightly bitter.

This beer is extremely drinkable. I love wheat beers, and I love beers from the Baltika brewery, so I might have just found a match. They come in large 1p.9oz bottles, and are nothing to scoff at, but I can easily drink a few bottles of these and not feel guilty.

Beers of the World has a case of this. I like it so much I might just swing by for one. The price really is right.

I'll always be biased about this beer, and all Baltika products in a way. I spent a summer in St Petersburg and it became the go-to beer. I had the privilege of touring the brewery as well. I remember these tasting better fresh in St Petersburg, and that may be partially reflected in my review, but that's life.

A - Pours a cloudy pale yellow and, even with a gentle pour, a huge, creamy, dense head of very small bubbles that lasts forever. Not much lacing.

S - Very dry wheaty/grainy smell (reminds me of Heineken, actually...) with lemon and a slight hint of banana hidden waaayyy in the background. No noticeable clove. Not as full of an aroma as I tend to like.

T/M - It tastes like a combination of Heineken and an American hefe. First I get the pleasant wheat flavor with a pleasant yeastiness from the sediment. Then the finish and after taste are very Heineken to me; dry, grainy and sharp. The lemon zest flavor is quite nice. There's an aggressive carbonation of very fine bubbles; champagne-like, but not quite and calms down as you go. Body is pretty typical of a wheat; maybe on the thin side of average.

D - Not entirely unpleasant. Goes down easy, very refreshing. Light, but not too light....but that damned after taste just won't cut it for me. I'm glad I only bought one. If someone offered me one, I'd take it, but not something I'd buy again. Plenty of better Hefes out there.

T - A mild sweetness comes on at first with a very crisp banana flavor. Banana fades quickly and delves into the lemony element of the wheat malt. Overall a mild sweet/sour flavor. This hefe lacks the big fruitiness and medicinal phenols of most hefeweizens. Not offensive, but certainly off balance for the style.

M - Light as most hefes, but fairly watery. Carbonation is high and definitely crisp. A little more thickness would've done this brew better.

D - I don't know if I'd buy it again, but it is a decidedly average hefeweizen. Great nose, but the taste is muddled up; by the mouthfeel not to mention the almost complete abscense of phenolic flavors.

Just another hefe really. Nothing remarkable about this brew, but it might be worth a taste for both fans of the style and brewery.

Without the label, you would never know this is not from Germany. Pours cloudy gold with a full white head. Nice strong aroma of yeast, bubblegum, and bananas. Great strong taste of the same, but tart with lemon and wheat. It is very carbonated, which is a drawback, but this is stil a really, really good hefe.

T - Again, very wheaty, grainy and light malts with a touch of grassiness from the hops. Standard oranges, yeast, and breadiness.

M - light bodied and medium carbonation. Smooth and thirst quenching

D - highly drinkable, a good summer beer.

Overall - I'm not too familiar with many wheat beers and nor am I a huge fan of them but this one definitely did the trick and tasted great with our mid summer bbq. Much better than most other wheat beers I've had.

Pours a hazy golden color with a fair amount of dissipating head and some yeast particulates. The smell is pretty faint, mostly tart lemon, wheat and yeast. Not a very pleasing aroma in my opinion, almost stale (perhaps due in part to its overseas journey). The taste is heavily dominated by wheat, yeast and citrus. Not a very complex brew. There might be some vanilla in there... but it's not sweet, I'd say more on the tart side. Not one of my favorite hefeweizens, but it's drinkable and cheap ($1.99 for a 22oz bottle). I think I prefer the darker beers when it comes to Baltika.

Poured this one into a wiezen glass. Unfiltered hazy golden straw color. Pretty head, large bubbles.

Smells like a sweet hefe. Citrusy orange, not too much wheat - just enough.

Whoa - this is a strange brew. Sweet and syrupy up front followed by lemoney tartness and ends up with an almost masa (think tamale batter) like finish. Leaves a grainey feel on the tounge. A unique yeast strain lends a distinctive quality to this one.

Interesting beer, nice price...might just have to buy this one again someday.

T - The sweetness in the malt really comes out followed by some banana and clove

M - This is a medium bodied beer with medium carbonation to it

D - Hefeweizens are one of my favorite styles but this one seems closer to an American wheat because its sweeter and has less banana and clove to it but its not a bad beer just not what I was expecting

Baltika is one of the best value imports I have come across, this is my fourth from their line and two have been great and the other two, including this one have been so-so. Faint aroma of malted wheat with the banana and clove scents. Poured great into my glass, shiny golden yellow-orange with a pillowy white head and good yeast cloudiness. Creamy mouthfeel extremely full. Flavor is decent but not as powerful as I like my hefe's to be. Good beer, highly drinkable, but not close to being near the best.

A - A big healthy four fingers of dense white cream rises above a sunny light-apricot brew. This is cloudy and murky like a hefe should be...none of that filtered crap here! The head is long lasting and thick, and it never strays below a solid fat finger. Lots of creamy lace is left on the glass. This is a really nice lookin' hefe.

S - Banana peel and clove along with some slightly spicy hops. The yeast notes are very forward, and this is almost like banana baby food with added spice. This isn't off the wall stunning, but it smells exactly like a hefe should IMHO.

T - This is heavy on the banana and bubblegum. It's almost as if the Ruskies at Baltika read about what a Bavarian Hefe should taste like and then focused on those two flavor components. This one is very sweet...like mushed brown bananas, but a hint of hops and a bit of spice kick it up until the finish, which is oily sweet again.

M - Medium bodied with loads of residual sugar coating the palate for an almost oily or waxy feel after the swallow. Carbonation is prickly at first and then smoothed out by the sugary feel, and the finish is very sweet and long lasting.

D - This is sort of like a dessert hefe. It's a little too sweet IMO, but it's not bad at all. Sort of like a gooey banana flavored donut or something.

I generally don't have high expectations with beers from this brewery, but maybe I should. Seems that all they make is quite solid. This wheat beer is no different. Begins with a firm yellow tone, loose knit head formation / retention, and shows lively carbonation. Haze is evident, but not in excess. Aromas are mostly of well attenuated malts, bready wheats, and a burst of lemons with a follow up of pepper and clove. Flavors bring about the same, allowing the lemon flavors to dominate. Hop intensity is low and brings a mild herbal note. The acidity keeps the beer balanced and avoids thickening or cloying. Proves to be a better thirst quencher than most bananna or malt dominant Hefe's. I'll gladly have another.